Yoshiko Ii

Yoshiko “Yosh” Ii, was born in Tokyo Japan in 1954 to Dr. Jack Morito Ii and Aiko Ii. She passed away in Seattle from a long chronic illness at the age of 66. Yoshiko grew up in Tokyo, Japan until age 8. She has many fond memories of her childhood. Playing with her sister and friends, exploring Tokyo, spending summers at her grandparents’ home by Sea of Japan. When her father obtained his Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering from Stanford and UW, and a job with Boeing, he brought his family to the U.S. Her mother learned English and became a master instructor of Sogetsu School of Ikebana. She later founded Seattle Sogetsu School. Yosh graduated from Newport High School in 1972, then entered the University of Washington and graduated with a Masters in Architecture degree.

Upon graduation her first job was to help construct displays for the new Seattle Aquarium She then went to work for Arai Jackson Architects, designing a variety of public facilities. Yosh then kicked off a 26-year career with Metro Transit and King County’s Department of Transportation. She .joined the team of planners that developed and constructed the Downtown Transit Tunnel. She was responsible for coordinating the architectural finishes and artwork for the five tunnel stations. Following completion of the tunnel construction, she was a key contributor for the regional light rail planning efforts that later evolved into Sound Transit. Some of her responsibilities included coordinating transit needs with local community concerns. She served as an important liaison between the technical design teams and local stakeholders. She served two terms on the Seattle Design Commission responsible for reviewing all projects within Seattle’s public space. For example, one of her implemented suggestions was for Frank Gehry to consider redesigning the EMP (now Mo Pop) so that the monorail passes through the building rather than realigning the tracks around the building. Unfortunately, her health forced her to take an early retirement in 2008.

Yosh met her husband Jim, also an architect, when they worked in adjacent offices. They were married and honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 1985. Jim and Yosh enjoyed the great outdoors together skiing, camping and hiking. A three-week trip to Peru was highlighted with a 17,000-foot elevation mountain trek and a river trip into the Amazon jungle. Yosh enjoyed burning off excess energy with her teammates on the soccer pitch. Somewhere in their busy professional schedules they found time to raise their two children, Mikki and Kenzo. As a truly dedicated transit rider, she carried the infant Mikki on the bus everyday so that she could be in a daycare nearby her office. She fulfilled one of her life goals when they purchased a waterfront home in Lake Forest Park to raise the family in. Jim and Yosh loved traveling together. She spent her final years living at home with a panoramic view of her beloved Lake Washington, with the Cascades range off in the distance. It was her good fortune, to be able to travel to Maui this past December, for one final journey to one of her favorite destinations.

Yoshiko was preceded in passing by her father Jack. She is survived by her husband Jim Kressbach; mother, Aiko; brother, Mutsuya; sister, Keiko; daughter, Mikki Kressbach and son, Kenzo Kressbach.

Yoshiko was cremated at the Acacia Funeral Home on February 3rd with a small family group in attendance. A Celebration of Life will follow when the COVID regulations have been lifted.